Day 168 & 169—We are in our sixth month of Bible reading. Praise God!

(Note: SUNDAY’s and MONDAY’s readings are combined.)

    Day 168 – Proverbs 25 – 26 (King Hezekiah’s collection of Solomon’s proverbs)

25:6-7. Both Luke 14:8-10 (Jesus) and James 4:7-10 mention this truth. It’s better to take a lower place and be invited to “Come up” than to assume grandeur and be embarrassed when asked to take a lower seat.   Yes, pride does go before a “fall.”

25:13 and 25. Both of these verses compare good news from a faithful messenger to the cold of snow in September’s heat and cold water to a thirsty soul – refreshing and restoring.  How doubly true when a lost soul hears the Good News of God’s salvation.

25:16  is good advice for a dieter – “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.”  Does this also apply to pesky neighbors? 25:17, “Let you foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of YOU and hate you.”   (Oh, so practical is Solomon!)

25:21-22 is also mentioned in the New Testament by Paul (Romans 12:20), about loving your enemy by feeding him and giving him water… and by heaping burning coals on his head. (???)

25:24. And another unhappy married man and his quarrelsome wife.  (See 19:13 and 21:9)

26: 4&5 is humorous at first reading: “Answer NOT a fool according to his folly…” and “Answer a fool according to his folly…” It shows that there are times to rebuke foolishness and other times to ignore it.

Solomon also pictures the sluggard in verses 13-15 and gossip in verses 20-22. 

26:27 (dig a pit and fall into it, roll a stone, and it will roll over you) reminds me of the fate of Haman in the Book of Esther. The gallows he prepared for Mordecai were used to hang him.  (Esther 5:14 with 7:9-10).

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    Day 169 – Proverbs 27 – 29 (More of Solomon’s proverbs)

James 4:13-16 expands on 27:1. Don’t boast or make bold plans for “tomorrow” because you don’t even know if you HAVE tomorrow. (Instead, say, “If the Lord wills.”  Jesus told the parable about the rich fool who planned to build bigger barns for his abundant crops, but his soul “was required of him that very night.” (Luke 12:13-21)

27:2 – Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.

27:6 – Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

27:21b – …a man is tested by his praise.

The benefits of justice and the law. (28:4-9)

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” 28:13.  This is also seen in 1 John 1:6-9.

28:27. “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who “hides his eyes” will get many a curse.” tells us about helping the poor and not ignoring them.  1 John 3:17-18 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet “closes his heart” against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

Proverbs 29: 15 and 17 talk about the rightness of discipline.  15. “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.  17. Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.” 

And so ends Solomon’s proverbs. Chapter 30 is written by Agur, and chapter 31 by King Lemuel.